Culinary Rock Stars

All the Borgata celeb chefs will be on hand Nov. 7 for this special event.

From its inception, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and its younger sister property, The Water Club, have been the vanguard for cutting-edge cuisine in the southern New Jersey region and the local casino industry.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7pm they will celebrate that commitment to excellence in food and wine with their second annual Savor Borgata event.

Presented by renowned vintner Perrier-Jouet Winery, Savor Borgata provides more than just great dining, but also a rare opportunity to interact with the chefs responsible for maintaining and enhancing Borgata’s already sterling reputation. Participating on this evening will be a veritable all-star squad of culinary talent, including Austrian native and California cuisine founder Wolfgang Puck; New Yorker Bobby Flay, an original member of The Food Network’s Iron Chef contingent with his southwestern-influenced dossier; SeaBlue’s brilliant, personable Michael Mina, one of this country’s most successful and admired young talents; Michael Schulson, chef of modern Japanese pub Izakaya and also a TV personality; newcomer Stephen Kalt, responsible for the latest Borgata attraction, the Italian facility Fornelletto Cucina and Wine Bar; Geoffrey Zakarian, who directs all food activities at The Water Club and is also a veteran New York City restaurateur; Romeo DiBona of legendary Old Homestead steakhouse; Ron Ross, Borgata executive chef; and Thaddeus DuBois, Borgata executive pastry chef and formerly employed in a similar post at The White House.

Although this year’s menu wasn’t available at press time, 2008’s featured creative, innovative fare reflective of both the individual chef’s personalities and their ventures underlying concepts. Savor Borgata further serves to confirm the growth, maturity and sophistication of the local restaurant market. It is, to say the very least, more than unusual for a grouping of chefs this talented to appear together at a single event.

In fact, the best comparison we can allude to would be an all-star benefit concert featuring multiple, top-of-the-marquee-worthy rock stars.

On those occasions, mutual respect is manifested in a fiercely competitive attitude, with each and every performer not wanting to be outdone by his or her peers. We would expect nothing less from the stellar kitchen personnel Borgata has assembled for this event.

For those lucky few fortunate enough to procure tickets and attend —Borgata’s website currently indicates it has already sold out — the night should prove to be more than memorable.